Nest.



No. 801,760. PATENTED OGT.10,1905. H. E. BABIONE.

NEST.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.26.1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED OCT. 10, 1905.

H. E. BABIONE.

NEST.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.26.1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HARRY EDW'ARD BABIONE, OF \VOODVILLE, OHIO.

NEST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application filed October 26,1904:- Serial No. 230,054.

.Tr) 11,27 whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRYEDWARD BABIONE, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Voodville, in the county of Sanduslty and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Nest, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in nests for poultry, and the prime object is to provide a novel structure of this sort that will properly take care of the eggs as fast as they are laid therein, removing them from the reach of the hens so that they cannot be eaten thereby, will not bebrolcen, and are kept entirely clean.

Another object is to provide a nest of the above character with means for automatically closing the same when its capacity has been reached.

A further object is to provide a nest that is sanitary, is not liable to become offensive, and can be easily cleansed.

Another object is to provide a device of the above character from which the eggs can be removed at any time without the necessity-of disturbing a fowl that may be laying an egg therein.

An embodiment of the invention that is at present considered preferable is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a perspective view of the same. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the nest-casing in elevation. Fig. 1 is a detail perspective view of the locking device for the closure and the actuating and controlling means therefor. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of said locking device. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view showing a modified form of traps.

Similar reference-numerals indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

in the embodiment illustrated an upright nest-casing is employed comprising side walls T, a top 8, and a rear slatted wall 9. A front entrance 10 is provided, and a removable nestbottom is employed, comprising a down wardly and rearwardly inclined plate 11, suitably padded, as shown at 12, and supported on pins 1?). The rear end of the nest bottom terminates short of the rear edges of the side wall 7, as shown in Fig. 2, and its inward movement is limited by stops 1%, secured to the opposite front corners of the plate 11 and abutting against the front edges of the walls T. An inclosed passage-way 15 1s located beneath the nest and is formed by a downwardly and l forwardly inclined chute that projects beyond the front wall of the casing, said chute having side walls 16, a hinged cover 17, and a bottom 18, the greater part of which is open, as shown at 19. The upper end of this chute is located directly beneath the rear end of the nest-bottom; and a flexible wall of fabric or other suitable material extends from a point above the rear end of the nest-bottom downwardly in spaced relation thereto to the chute or passage-way. The bottom and portions of the side wall of the passage-way are lined, as shown at 2.1. Beneath the opening 19 of the bottom of the passage-way are sus pended, by means ofhooks 22, a plurality of egg-receiving bags 23, the upper edges of which are spaced from the bottom a sufficient distance to provide hand-openings through which access may be gained to the interiors of said bags. A plurality of traps control the opening, each of said traps consisting of angularly-disposed leaves 2 1 and 25, secured at their junctu res to a pivot-rod 26, journaled in the side walls. These leaves, which may be constructed of any material desired, are covered with suitable cushioning material 27. In their normal positions the leaves 24; constitute bottom elements that are disposed in substantial alinement with the bottom 18, said leaves being downwardly movable, however, under the weight of an egg located thereon. \Vhen so arranged, the leaves 25 extend upwardl y across the passage-way and act as stops, resting against pins 28,carried by the side walls 15. These stop-leaves 25 will of course move downwardly upon the downward movement of the leaves .24: and when so arranged rest upon pins .29, also carried by the side walls 15. In this position the leaves constitute supports over which the eggs roll. The movement of the leaves 25, and consequently the movement of the traps, is therefore limited by the pins 28 and 2%. As an illustration of how these traps may be modified, attention is invited to Fig. 6, wherein it will be noted that angularly-disposed leaves 2 1 and 25 are employed, carried by a pivot 26 and covered with cushioning material 27". The leaves 24, as before,constitute, primarily,the bottom elements, and the leaves 25 are adapted to rest against stop-pins 28. \Vhen, however, the leaves 24; are in depending relation, the leaves 25 overlap, as shown. Thus their free ends are supported by the pivoted portion of those adjacent.

For the purpose of closing the nest against the entrance of hens a closure is employed comprising a cross-bar 30, carried by side arms 31, that are pivoted, as shown at 32, to the inner sides of the side walls 7, so as to permit the cross-bar to swing to a position across the entrance 10, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the movement in this direction being limited by stop-pins 32 When in its rearmost position, the closure is entirely out of the way and does not interfere with the entrance and exit of the fowls. A perchsupport 33, pivotally supported below and outside the entrance 10, has connections with the closure 30 by means of flexible wires 34.

In order to secure the closure against movement to an operative position, a lock isemployed comprising a pair of hook-shaped projections 35 and 36, the former of which is secured to one of the side walls 7, the latter being carried by the adjacent side arm 31, and when said side arm is in its rearmost position the projection 36 is located in rear of the projection 35. A latch-bar 37, pivotally supported at its lower end, as shown at 38, is arranged to swing between the projections 35 and 36 and is connected by means of a cord 39 with an actuating-spring 40, disposed below the removable nest-bottom 11, said cord passing through guiding-eyes 41 and in rear of a guard-flange 42. The spring is adapted to be placed under tension and held in this condition by means of a trip 43 and a trigger 44, pivoted upon one of the side walls 15 of the passage-way, a guide-pin 45 being located alongside the trip 43. The trigger 44 is connected by a wire 46 with a controlling device in the form of a gate 47, hinged, as shown at 48, to the lower end of the passage-way and extending across the same.

In putting this nest in condition for use the cover 17 of the passage-way is opened and the various traps are swung to their uppermost positions with the leaves 25 raised. The nest-bottom 11 12 is removed, the closure is thrown to its inoperative position and is locked by the latch-bar 37. Then the spring 40 is placed under tension and secured by the lever and trip, after which the nest-bottom is returned to position, and the cover 17 is closed. Poultry will thereupon have free access to the nest through the entrance, and said poultry during their entrances and exits will alight upon the perch 33 without causing the movement of the closure, as the same is locked. As soon as an egg has been laid the same will gravitate down the nest-bottom into the passage-way and passing down the same will strike the first trap. Immediately said trap will be inverted, and the egg will be deposited in the first bag. The downward movement of the trap causes the upstanding leaf 25 to act as a part of the bottom of the guideway, so that the next egg deposited will pass over the same and enter the next trap, being thereby placed in the second bag. The successive eggs will thereby be directed to the different bags until the same have been filled. When this has taken place, the next egg will pass directly over the traps and strike the gate 47 This will cause a slight outward movement of the gate, sufficient, however, to operate the trigger 44, thus disengaging it from the lever 43 and releasing the spring. The tension of said spring is sufficient to withdraw the latch from the projections 35 and 36, and thus the closure will be unlocked. As soon as the hen leaves the nest she will step upon the perch-support 33 and the same will thereupon drop downwardly,causing the closure to move outwardly to a position across the entrance and preventing any more hens reaching the nest. It will thus be seen that the eggs are directed away from the nest as rapidly as laid and are entirely out of reach of the hens, so that they will not be eaten by them. Moreover, each egg is deposited in a separate receptacle, so that it will not become broken, and there is no danger of breakage from two or more hens crowding in upon the same nest. Furthermore, the eggs being immediately disposed of are kept clean. The nest is sanitary, as there is no straw or similar material which can become offensive, the bottom being removable,so that it can be readily cleaned when necessary. It will be apparent that the structure is comparatively simple and can be readily manufactured of any material and of any size desired. The number of egg-receptacles may be increased or diminished, and various changes in the details of construction may be made without in any manner departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. This is perhaps particularly true of the controlling means for the closure-lock.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a nest, of a plurality of stationary egg-receivers, and means for automatically directing the eggs to the different receivers.

2. The combination with a nest, of a plurality of egg-receivers, and means automatically movable with respect to the receivers for successively directing the eggs to the different receivers.

3. The combination with a nest, of Walls forming an egg passage-Way communicating with the nest, a plurality of egg-receivers, and means movable with respect to the receivers for successively directing the eggs from the passage-way into the different receivers.

4. The combination with a nest, of suitable walls forming an egg passage-way communicating with the nest, egg-receiving means and a plurality of traps movable with respect to the receiving means and arranged to be successively operated by the eggs passing into the passage-way.

5. The combination with a nest, of walls forming an egg passage-way communicating with the nest, and a plurality of movable traps located in the bottom of the passage-way and arranged to be successively operated by and permitting the escape of eggs passing into the passage-way.

6. The combination with a nest, of suitable walls forming an egg passage-way communicating with the nest and provided with a bottom opening, and a pivoted trap controlling the opening and having an upstanding stop located in the passage-way.

T. The combination with a nest, of suitable walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest and provided with a bottom opening, and a pivoted trap controlling the opening and comprising a downwardly-movable bottom element and an upstanding stop located in the passage-way.

S. The combination with a nest, of suitable walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest and provided with a bottom opening, and a pivoted trap controlling the opening and comprising a downwardly-movable bottom element and an upstanding stop located in the passage-way, said stop covering the opening and constituting a portion of the bottom of the passage-way when the bottom element has been moved downwardly.

9. The combination with an inclosed nest having an inclined bottom, of suitable walls forming an inclined passage-way located beneath the nest and communicating therewith, said passage way having a bottom opening and a trap controlling the opening and comprising angularly-disposed leaves pivoted contiguous to their juncture, one of said leaves constituting a bottom element that is movable downwardly when an egg rests thereon, the other leat' constituting an upstanding stop that is z lso movable downwardly to close the bottom opening when the said bottom element has been moved downwardly.

10. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest and having a bottom opening, a pivoted trap controlling the opening and having an upstanding stop located in the passageway, and an egg-receiver located below the opening.

11. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest and having a bottom opening, a pivoted trap controlling the opening and having an upstanding stop located in the passageway, and an egg-receiver located below the opening, said egg-receiver having a handopening.

12. The combination with a nest, of suitable walls forming an egg passage-way communieating with the nest and provided with a bottom openin a downwardly-movalole trap controlling the opening, and an egg-receiving bag suspended beneath the opening and having its upper edge spaced from the bottom of the passage-way forming a hand-receiving opening.

13. The combination with a nest having a downwardly-inclined bottom, of walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest and having a downwardly-inclined bottom provided with an opening, an egg-receiver located beneath the opening, and a trap controlling the opening, said trap consisting of angularly-disposed leaves, one of which constitutes a bottom element that is downwardly movable, the other comprising a stop'element that is normally located in the passage-way and projects above the bottom thereof.

14. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest, and a plurality of independently downwardly movable traps located in the passageway, said traps being arranged for successive operation by eggs successively entering the passage-way.

15. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a passagewaycommunicating with the nest, a plurality of independently downwardly movable traps located in the passageway, and devices carried by the traps and movable into position to support eggs over said traps when the same have been moved downwardly.

16. The combination with a nest, of suitable walls forming a passageway communicating with the nest, a plurality of independently downwardly movable traps located in the passage-way, and upstanding egg-stops carried by the traps and normally projecting into the passage-way. 1

17. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest, a plurality of independently downwardly movable traps located in the passageway, and upstanding egg-stops carried by the traps and normally projecting into the passage-way, said stops constituting portions of the bottom of the passage-way when the traps have been moved downwardly.

18. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a downwardly-inclined passage-way having communication with the nest and having a bottom provided with an opening, and a plurality of pivoted traps located one behind the other and successively controlling portions of said bottom and permitting the passage of theretlu'ough. V

19. The combination with a nest, of suitable walls forming a down wardly-inclined passageway having communication with the nest and having a bottom provided with an opening, a plurality of egg-receivers located beneath the bottom, a plurality of pivoted traps each comprising angularly-disposed leaves, said traps being located one behind the other and arranged to successively deliver the eggs entering the passage-way into the ditlerent receivers.

20. The combination with an inclosed nest havinga downwardly-inclined padded bottom, of Walls forming a passage-Way located beneath the nest and inclined in an opposite direction thereto, said passage-way having communication at its upper end with the lower portion of the nest, a plurality of egg-receiving bags suspended from the passage-way and located beneath the same, said passage-way having an opening arranged above the bags, and a plurality of independently-operated traps for successively directing the eggs to the different bags.

21. The combination with a nest having a single entrance and exit opening, of a closure movable to an operative position across the same, a movable perch located exteriorly of the nest and arranged to move the closure to an operative position, a locking device for holding the closure against movement under the action of the perch, and means controlled by the eggs laid in the nest for effecting the movement of the locking device.

22. The combination with a nest,of a closure movable to an operative position across the same, a movable perch located extcriorly of the nest and connected to the closure to move the same to an operative position, a locking device for holding the closure and perch against movement, and means controlled by the eggs laid in the nest for efl'ecting the movement of the locking device.

23. The combination with a nest, of a swinging closure pivoted upon the nest and movable to an operative position across the same, a swinging perch, a connection between the perch and closure whereby the latter is swung to its operative position upon the movement of the former, a lock for holding the closure in inoperative position and the perch against movement, and means controlled by the eggs laid in the nest for effecting the movement of the locking device.

24:. The combination with an inclosed nest having a side entrance, of a swinging closurebar having side arms pivoted within the nest, said bar being movable to a position across the entrance, walls forming an egg passage-way having communication with the nest, a latch for securing the closure in inoperative position, and means for effecting the movement of the lock including an actuating device extending across the' passage-way and operated by an egg engaging the same.

25. The combination with a nest having a projection, of a movable closure also having a projection, and .a latch movable to a position between the projections for securing the-closure in open position.

26. The combination with a nest having an entrance, of a pivoted closure movable to a position across the entrance, said closure having a projection, another projection carried by the nest and located adjacent to but spaced from the projection of the closure when said closure is in open position, and a latch pivotally supported on the nest and arranged to lie between the projections.

27. The combination with a nest-casing having a side entrance, of a closure-bar for the side entrance having side arms pivoted within the casing, a hook projection carried by one of the arms, a similar projection carried by the casing, and an upstanding pivoted latch arranged to swing between the projections and hold the closure against movement to a position across the entrance.

28. The combination with a nest,of a closure movable to an operative position to close the nest, egg-receiving means, and devices for directing a predetermined number of eggs from the nest to the receiving means and permitting the movement of the closure to its said operative position after such predetermined number of eggs have been directed to said receiving means.

29. The combination with a nest,of a closure movable to an operative position across the same, egg-receiving means, a locking device for holding the closure against movement,controlling means for the locking device operated by an egg laid in the nest, and devices for automatically directing a predetermined number of eggs to the receiving means and preventing their engagement with the said controlling means.

30. The combination with a nest, of a closure movable to an operative position across the same, walls forming an egg passage-way that communicates with the nest, means for controlling the movement of the closure including an actuating device movably extending across the passage-way, and an automatic eggtrap located in the passage-way between the nest and actuating device.

31. The combination with anest, ofaclosure movable to an operative position across the same, walls forming an egg passage-way that communicates with the nest, means for controlling the movement of the closure including an actuating device movably extending across the passage-way, and devices located in the passage-way between the nest and actuating device for directing a predetermined number of eggs from said passage-way.

32. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest, a movable closure for the nest, a looking device, means for actuating the device including an element arranged across the passage-way, and means for directing an egg out of the passage-way before engaging said element.

33. The combination with a nest, of walls forming a passage-Way communicating with the nest and having a bottom provided Withan opening, a closure for the nest, a lock for holding the closure in inoperative position,

vmeans for effecting the movement of the lock including a controlling device arranged atone end of the passage-way, and a plurality of traps located in the bottom of the passage- Way.

3*. The combination with anest, ofa closure therefor, a lock for the closure, automatic means for moving the lock, and mechanism for releasing the automatic means, said mechanism including a controlling device operated by an egg laid in the nest.

35. The combination with a nest, of a closure therefor, a movable lock for the closure, a spring for moving the lock, means for holding the spring under tension, and a device for releasing the spring, said device being located in the path of movement of an egg laid in the nest.

36. The combination with a nest, ofaclosure therefor, a lock for the closure, a spring for moving the lock, a trigger for securing the spring under tension, and a device for effecting the movement of the trigger, said device being located in the path of movement of an egg laid in the nest.

37. The combination with a nest, of Walls forming a passage-way communicating with the nest, a closure for the nest, a lock for the closure, a spring for moving the lock, a trig- J ger for holding the spring under tension, and a movable controlling device located in the l passage-Way and having a connection with the trigger.

38. The combination with a nestc'asinghavinga side entrance and an inclined bottom, of walls forming an inclined passage-way having communication with the nest, a closure pivoted within the casing and movable across the entrance, a perch pivotally mounted below the entrance and outside the same, a connection between the perch-support and closure, a lock for holding the closure against movement, a spring for moving the look, a connection between the spring and look, a trigger for holding the spring under tension, a gate hinged at the lower end of the passage-way and having a connection with the trigger, said passage-way having a bottom provided with an opening, a plurality of traps located in the bottom and arranged to be successively operated by eggs passing through the passageway, and a plurality of egg-receiving bags suspended beneath the traps.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aliixcd my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

HARRY EDVARD BABIONE.

\Vitnesses:

JNo. F. NIEMAN, D. MOLLYARD. 

